Overview & Applicability

Rising sea levels are being caused by a change in the volume of the world's oceans due to temperature increase, deglaciation (uncovering of glaciated land because of melting of the glacier), and ice melt. This data viewer can provide a preliminary look at sea level rise and how it might affect coastal resources across the United States (with the exception of Alaska and Louisiana). Data and maps can be used at several scales to help gauge trends and prioritize actions for different scenarios.

Summary:

This data viewer can provide a preliminary look at sea level rise and how it might affect coastal resources across the United States (with the exception of Alaska and Louisiana). Data and maps can be used at several scales to help gauge trends and prioritize actions for different scenarios.

The Southern Regional Extension Forestry Office facilitates programming among professionals who work on many issues and opportunities facing the forestry and natural resources communities, including climate change.

At Stream Edge

Steve Moore is a fisheries biologist and land manager in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in East Tennessee.

See an interview with Steve Moore.

A Land Manager Restores Native Trout

Land managers often act as the primary champions and protectors of a plant, animal or ecosystem, and to native eastern brook trout, Steve Moore, a fisheries biologist ... Read More »

Land managers often act as the primary champions and protectors of a plant, animal or ecosystem, and to native eastern brook trout, Steve Moore, a fisheries biologist and land manager in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in East Tennessee, is a hero. Moore's spent almost 30 years restoring native trout habitat in the Park, across the Southeast, and throughout the country. "In the past, we haven't made the best management decisions when it comes to native trout," says Moore."But they're part of our heritage, and it's wise to protect and preserve these natives wherever we can." "Native eastern brook trout are found all over the Southern Appalachians, and a lot of their range was my backyard playground, growing up," says Moore."So basically I get to work in the lands that I grew up playing in. I got my dream job at home." Moore's "office" encompasses the 814 square miles of America's most-visited national park, world-renowned for its unique and diverse aquatic ecosystems”and for the modern challenges to those ecosystems. When nonnative rainbow trout were introduced in the late 19th century to degraded streams, brook trout were forced to retreat to higher elevations. Some of these streams are now uninhabitable because of airborne acid deposition, leaving brook trout sandwiched between threats. Native brook trout, or brookies, are also very sensitive to water temperatures, and require cold waters, below 70 degrees. With most climate change models in agreement that air temperatures will spike over the next century, brookies need a hand. Moore and his team, along with volunteers and partners, have restored brook trout habitat all over the park; more than a fifth of the brook trout waters there are the fruit of their efforts. Each restored site historically hosted brook trout, has a natural barrier that prevents nonnative brown and rainbow trout from invading, and is small enough for successful and efficient removal of nonnative fishes like rainbow and brown trout. Moore's current project spans 7 miles of Lynn Camp Prong, a headwater stream in the park. "If this venture is successful, it will be the biggest contiguous watershed for brook trout in the park," says Moore. The restoration project involves clearing the stream of nonnative trout and re-populating it with native eastern brook trout. Moore grew up fishing, but these days, it's only rainbow and brown trout that end up on his dinner table. "I've worked so hard to restore and save brook trout that it'd be hard to catch one and kill it," says Moore. "I don't have that problem with rainbow and brown trout. They're fair game for the table if I want fresh trout for dinner." Other people fishing for trout apparently feel the same way; a survey Moore took in 2007 revealed that while many anglers wanted to catch a wild native brook trout, all but a few planned to release their catches. "That was a neat thing to find out," says Moore. "I certainly didn't anticipate that reaction." Moore regularly takes his grandchildren on fishing and hiking trips, intent on teaching them to appreciate the natural resources that surround them."If we fail to train our kids and our grandkids, we're not going to have the champions we need in the future to carry on the cause."

About those involved:

Andy Dolloff is the Team Leader for Aquatics, USFS Southern Research Station. For more information call Andy Dolloff at 540-231-4864.

Sarah Farmer is a student at the University of North Carolina, Asheville, majoring in Biology and science writing intern at the Southern Research Station.

This will give managers an effective tool to help prioritize locations for native brook trout survival.

By Sarah Farmer

It's not always the case that the "further research" scientists call for in their journal articles brings good news, but sometimes collecting more detailed data yields the unexpected. Results from collaborative research by the US Forest Service and the US Geological Survey may not only bring a sigh of relief to native trout lovers but also provide a precise planning tool for land managers in the Appalachian region faced with rising temperatures from climate change.

U.S. forests play a large role in offsetting carbon emissions, about 20 % of the U.S. fossil fuel carbon output. If a forest replaces itself after a disturbance like fire, then there is no long-term loss of carbon.